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The Iowa State Judicial Nominating Committee will begin interviewing candidates on January 24. They will then submit 9 names to Governor Terry Branstad who will then appoint three. You can read the applications for each potential nominee here. Below is a list with some basic information courtesy of Nathan Tucker.

This crop consists of 30 Democrats, 28 Republicans and three people who have no party affiliation:

Tucker points out one candidate who we should definitely keep a watchful eye on:

Now that the list of applicants has been made public, Iowans can begin the process of vetting the candidates for themselves. One candidate, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a law professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, was a vocal supporter of gay marriage before the Court issued its decision in the Varnum case.

Advancing Onwuachi-Willig in the selection process would likely create a firestorm from many Iowa conservatives. Placing someone who championed gay marriage rights under consideration would be seen as a slap in the face following November’s retention election. Her public statements regarding the issue of gay marriage cast doubt on her ability the be objective should this issue reach the court again.

Anyway, take some time to look through the applications yourself. I see a quality candidate in Matt Whitaker, former U.S Attorney. He is also a strict constructionalist and made no bones about being so on his application. If he is passed over I’d be curious to hear the commission’s rationale. But since this is a *nonpartisan* commission *surely* they’ll have a balance of Republicans and Democrats on their list of nine won’t they?